Sakura watches as Kakashi processes the information, his eyes going from wary, to confused, to resigned acceptance, to amusement.
"It's only been a day and my team is already blowing my mind," he says with a long-suffering sigh, eye crinkling up into a smile. "Looks like you didn't all die within your first C-Rank after all," he jokes, face smoothing back into a nonchalant façade.
Sakura's eyes yet again flash with something akin to bitterness, as she mutters "maybe it would've been better if we had" before she stops, squints, and says "actually, we kind of almost did", immediately sending Kakashi into a fit of laughter as he tactfully ignored the first part of her statement.
Sakura cracks a fond smile, relishing a sound she thought she'd never hear again, before the moment is interrupted by the Hokage.
"Not to cut any potential reunions short," he starts, "but we need to talk about what this implies for everyone."
Immediately, the mood shifts yet again - reality hitting Sakura in the face. Sighing, she rests one hand against her temple, restraints having dissolved after Inoichi discerned she wasn't a threat.
"I don't even know where to begin, honestly," she stats bluntly, tacking on a 'how many more fucking times am I going to say that today' under her breath.
"Well, how about this - is there any direct threat to Konoha in the near future?" the Sandaime asks, tone serious.
Surprising everyone, Sakura barks out a harsh laugh, dissolving into a coughing mess. The other occupants of the room look on in mild concern; they all recognize the laugh without humor and are instantly on edge. Noting Sakura's mental distress, Kakashi inches closer to the couch.
"What even is the date," Sakura asks as she calms down, hand on her temple, eyes searching for any sign of a calendar.
"Your team assignment date," Kakashi offers, gazing at his student with a mix of curiosity and concern.
Sakura's face immediately reddens as she remembers her team introduction. "Please, disregard anything I said on that rooftop, oh my god," she says in embarrassment, making Kakashi smirk and offer an unhelpful "it was rather interesting". Sakura quickly adds another item to her 'reasons I wish I could fade into the ether' list, scrunching up her face in a grimace.
Again, the Sandaime coughs, somewhat amused, but ready to turn back to the serious matter at hand.
"How about you start with the most recent threat."
Sakura pauses and considers. "Well, really, it's all one huge "big picture" image. Unfortunately, I really doesn't know what's more important - the "big picture" itself and its inevitability or the specific events that led to the making of it," she finishes. Despite her knowledge that being completely blunt is key in this conversation, it doesn't make it any easier to begin it.
As if reading her mind, Kakashi speaks up.
"Perhaps we can ask you questions that we deem important," he begins, "and you can fill in any missing information that you deem relevant."
It isn't the cleanest course of action, but then again, this isn't exactly a common situation, so they have to make do with what they get.
Graciously, Sakura agrees with his suggestion. Sakura has halfway accepted the reality at this point, putting her emotional protests on hold, but she can feel the beginnings of a physical post-adrenaline crash. Sakura knows this is a critical moment, and she isn't going to let herself faint now; despite her knowledge of her chakra exhaustion and need for rest, she begins circulating medical chakra throughout her body. Her mind is already clouding over, but they need to get the important and immediate information in the open before she allows herself to rest.
"To begin, how long do we have to prepare for any possible threats?" the Sandaime suggests, eyes serious and hard.
Sakura thinks for only a moment, the answer becoming crystal clear to her almost instantly.
"The upcoming Chuunin exams is when the danger starts. Everything goes downhill from there - unfortunately, the events leading up to the specific incidents have already been put in place; even if we could do anything to stop it, given relevant information and the changes it made, I would go so far as to say it wouldn't be beneficial to Konoha as a whole to prevent the initial… thing," she finishes ineloquently. Dropping her professionalism, she bit out some things that sounded suspiciously like "This is fucking difficult" and "On Amaterasu this is almost harder than living through the goddamned past", making Kakashi snicker and Inoichi clear his throat; the corner of his mouth conspicuously twitching upwards.
"Really there's not much way to explain it other than going into detail, which leads into the smaller events leading up to it, which leads into the context of the situation, which is a whole explanation back to the Warring States period," she elaborates in mild frustration, trying to convey how complex the situation was.
"Although," she says quietly, regaining her professionalism, "I suppose we could start by talking about Orochimaru."
Immediately the room goes silent. The Hokage sits suspiciously straight in his chair, Kakashi and Inoichi's eyes narrowing though they stare adamantly at the wall.
"What about him?" Inoichi asks in a false flat tone, eyes flickering to Sarutobi.
Sakura briefly remembers that the Sandaime is to blame for Orochimaru still being alive at this time, quickly deducing that his "accidental" mistake is still a tense topic of discussion. Judging from Inoichi and Kakashi's stiff reactions, shinobi are still on guard, and blame Sarutobi for the ordeal. She looks to the Sandaime, briefly annoyed because she didn't falter against her own teammate, her brother, and even if it hadn't worked, she had went for the killing blow when the opportunity presented itself even when she was clinging to the past.
Maybe she needs to shut down her petty and hurt thoughts before she drudges up that age-old wound and acts like a ten-year-old.
The air in the room hangs thick and heavy, the suffocating atmosphere making the shinobi tense. Well, I can't do anything about that, she thinks to herself. And maybe, he deserves it, she continues, bitterness taking hold for just a moment. Shutting down her noisy mind, Sakura moves on.
"He has his own village, and he's going to attack Konoha, along with the forces of Suna. He makes his initial move during the second phase of the chuunin exams, where he infiltrates the forest of death and attacks Team Seven."
Kakashi stiffens, eyes shifting towards Sakura; genin against a Sannin should be dead.
Sakura allows time for the information to set in, giving them ample time to adjust. As she waits, her vision briefly starts to swim and she tips imperceptibly, catching herself immediately - but Kakashi notices. His eyes sharpen.
"What does he want from Konoha?" Inoichi finally asks, breaking the silence.
Sakura's face immediately scrunches in disgust, chakra darkening and eyes glinting like fire.
"Uchiha Sasuke," she spits out, with such heavy animosity that those in the room nearly flinch. Kakashi thinks back to his team from this morning, when Sakura was fawning over the boy.
"What about him?" he asks tentatively, as the Sandaime puts a hand over his eyes and mutters.
"Of course. He wants his Sharingan, doesn't he," the Third asks heavily, breathing out a sigh.
Sakura's eyes darken once more into a steely cold jade, again making Kakashi both worried and curious; Inoichi notices the subtle shifts in her body language as the mention of the bloodline limit sends her into a stiff posture and a cold rage. Silently, he thinks of the shrieking laughter, blood, and the cold screams.
"Is he-" he starts, unable to stop himself. Sakura looks up and meets his eyes. Eyes weary, she nods.
"Is there anything the rest of us need to know?" The Sandaime asks, eyes catching Sakura's with a brief stubbornness, disregarding her clear wish to not answer.
Sakura exhales, her posture slightly tipping again. Kakashi activates his sharingan under his mask.
As Sakura regains herself and moves to answer, Kakashi cuts in.
"I believe what we all need to know," he begins in (partially) false anger, "is that Sakura has been channeling medical chakra for what I would guess is the better part of this conversation, despite her need to rest. We can continue this conversation later. From what she says, we have at least until the Chuunin exams, which means there's plenty of time to allow her to recover."
Sakura blinks in thanks, not at all surprised that he noticed her distress.
It would be impossible not to. The Sandaime and Inoichi startle as they really take in her current appearance.
She is tilting slightly, her eyes now reduced to a tired and foggy expression; she looks as if she's going to fall over at any moment.
"Right," Sarutobi begins, clearing his throat. "Where should we have you stay? Next to your younger self, perhaps? A henge may be required, or at least a change of hair color. Your specific look is quite… distinctive," he finishes thoughtfully.
Sakura shudders at the idea of living next to not only her parents, who she'd rather not know she exists, but also next to her younger, inquisitive self. Not that she would figure out her true identity, but Sakura can only handle so much cringe at once. Well, that, and she doesn't know if she can handle the constant reminder of how life used to be.
"I'd really rather not live next to myself or my family," she states plainly. "I can change my hair color with a henge. I'd be able to maintain it, so that won't be an issue."
Quickly, without the usage of seals, her pink hair shifts to a deep, glossy black color. She sways slightly, tips forward, catches herself again by shifting her weight to her front leg. As she shakes her head, Kakashi finally speaks up again.
"The apartment next to mine just cleared. You can live there," he offers, carefully gauging her response.
Sakura stops, still looking down, head reeling. Could she handle that?
She remembers long nights on the battlefield, long nights drenched in each other's blood after fighting nonstop, late nights wondering what would come to be of the world. Silent nights spent in companionable silence. Fearful nights, each wondering if the other would make it till morning as they treated each other's wounds.
Kakashi is-was- her brother. Her comrade, her comfort, her teacher, her reassurance that she wasn't insane. Naruto as well, but he was often forced to be somewhere else on the battlefield, somewhere else in the village, somewhere else in their lives.
This Kakashi, she reminds herself, carefully keeping her breathing measured, isn't the same Kakashi. She doesn't know if their relationship will be able to be the same in this version of events. For all intents and purposes, she'll be living next to a dead man. Or, rather, she will be living next to a man who looks like Kakashi, and her Kakashi is dead.
But, she thinks, still perusing through memories of wartime, it is the same Kakashi. She can do this. She's got a second chance, and she won't bitch about it; she'll take it for all its worth. Finally, after what felt like an eternity for the other three in the room, she speaks.
"I'll take it."
Kakashi relaxes imperceptibly as the Sandaime begins fishing for the appropriate documents.
"When do you expect to be fully recovered?"
Sakura turns to the Sandaime, pondering his question. She does a quick internal check - her arm is a bit sore from a quickly healed break not two days ago, and she's exhausted, but she has no real relevant injuries.
"Two days, give or take," She says, not wanting to commit. She has no idea what this time travel may have taken out of her.
"As soon as you feel well enough, report back here with Kakashi. We can discuss things further from there."
Sakura nods in agreement, slowly forcing herself to stand, despite her limbs feeling like lead.
Once everything is said and done, Kakashi offers to show her the way.
"I know where it is," she says on reflex, making Kakashi raise an eyebrow.
"We've spent a lot of time in that apartment," she clarifies. "Mine was destroyed and I had to stay with you briefly," she rectifies once again after realizing that Kakashi was eyeing her very suspiciously - she could practically hear his mind asking 'am I a fucking cradle robber in the future?'
She giggles at the thought. Perhaps this time around, he wouldn't die. She would make sure of it. Konoha wouldn't die, Kakashi wouldn't die, Ino wouldn't die, Tsunade - no one.
This time, it will be different.
A/N: Hello bluntly, I'm not very happy with this chapter, but if I don't post it now, the story will die, and I don't want it to. Again, I have no beta reader, so I apologize for any mistakes (that I will most likely notice immediately after posting. I apologize for all of the typos in the last chapter, I'm so sorry).
Please let me know what you would like me to do better, what you'd like me to work on, where you'd like to see the story go - I would love to hear anything from you all _
Thank you for all of my new followers and favorites. I love you guys and hope to improve my writing and give you the story as it should be, but for now, please bear with me and accept what I currently have to offer.
xAya